It's been a weekend of figuring damages, leasing buses
School will open on schedule Monday morning for the General Brown School District, despite the bus garage fire that's put its entire fleet out of service.
The district, north of Watertown in Dexter, is updating its website with messages to parents, reassuring them that the replacement buses will be doing pickups on time for the district's 1600 students.
The fire, on Friday night, destroyed two buses, but all the vehicles in the building are covered in soot or otherwise damaged by smoke. One bus, we're told, was out of the building being repaired. We're told that a cleaning crew is doing some basic cleanup on the vehicles today, but all will have to be re-inspected and re-certified by the State Transportation Department before they can carry students again.
It's been a busy weekend for administrators and school board members, who've been assessing damages and making arrangements for a 'normal' Monday opening. School Superintendent Stephan Vigliotti tells us they've leased a replacement fleet of buses, and have sent out phone messages to parents, telling them that the buses doing pickups may look different (some are coming from as far away as north of New York City). Vigliotti says several neighboring districts offered buses, but the logistics were overwhelming.
School Board members have also been busy, working through the weekend with claims adjustors, electricians, architects and engineers as they start the rebuild process for the damaged garage. Board Vice President Michael Kucharski says it's expected to be the end of the school year before all is back to 'normal.'There are no official reports on the fire cause yet, but it's believed it started in the engine of one of the buses.
There are no official reports on the fire cause yet, but it's believed it started in the engine of one of the buses.
Firefighters from several volunteer companies were called in Friday night just before 9pm, and were on the scene til early Saturday morning.
